A third of US homes now cellphone-only, finds NHIS

US— More than a third of US households are now without landline telephones, relying only on mobiles, according to the latest release of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

The survey also found that one in six homes received all or almost all calls on mobiles despite also having a landline phone.

Data relates to the second half of 2011. In the first half of that year, NHIS reported 32% of homes as being cell-only.

Key demographic differences

Nearly 6 in 10 adults aged 25-29 ( 59.6%) lived in households with only wireless telephones. This rate is greater than the rates for adults aged 18-24 ( 48.6%) or 30-34 ( 50.9%). The percentage of adults living in households with only

Wireless telephones decreased as age increased beyond 35 years: 36.8% for those aged 35-44, 23.8% for those aged 45-64; and 8.5% for those aged 65 and over.

More than three in four adults living only with unrelated adult roommates ( 77.5%) were in households with only wireless telephones. This rate is nearly twice as high as the rate for adults living alone ( 41.3%) and three times as high as the rate for adults living only with spouses or other adult family members ( 25.1%).

Men ( 33.7%) were more likely than women ( 30.9%) to be living in households with only wireless telephones.

Hispanic adults ( 43.3%) were more likely than non-Hispanic white adults ( 29.0%) or non-Hispanic black adults ( 36.8%) to be living in households with only wireless telephones.